Compositional Sketches Study Day
School of Arts
University of Surrey
March 11th 2015 10.30 - 17.00
Contributors:
Tom Armstrong (University of Surrey)
Simon Desbruslais (University of Hull)
Chris Mark (University of Surrey)
Robert Saxton (Worcester College, University of Oxford)
Michael Taylor (Trinity College Dublin)
Ever since since Nottebohm's writings on Beethoven, composers' sketches have fascinated other composers, musicians, performers, and listeners. Sketch study has become a notable sub-branch of musicology, informing critical editions, analysis, history, and biography, whilst the investigation of creativity has become a burgeoning area of interdisciplinary academic endeavour. The appeal of sketches is particularly strong for the understanding of modernist music, whose processes are often difficult to unravel: sketches can offer a short-cut to defining the manipulation of pitch, rhythm, and other parameters as well as the construction of form. But there are dangers: the composer's means of construction do not invariably translate into the listener's experience.
This colloquium offers a snapshot of some of the issues surrounding sketch-study and the study of creativity. Two composers, Tom Armstrong and Robert Saxton, explain their compositional processes through a commentary on their own sketches, while two musicologists, Chris Mark and Michael Taylor, assess what can be learnt from the sketches of two composers who have drawn heavily on constructivist techniques, Harrison Birtwistle and Roger Smalley. The day will include a lunchtime recital in which Simon Desbruslais will perform works for trumpet and electronics by Sebastian Forbes, Jonathan Harvey, Roger Smalley, and Tom Armstrong.
Attendance at the event is free but tickets must be booked in advance by emailing [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> or telephoning (01483) 686876. Tickets include refreshments, lunch, and admittance to the lunchtime recital.
Tickets can be booked from January 16th 2015.
For any other inquiries please email Dr. Tom Armstrong [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> or telephone (01483) 683052.
Tom Armstrong
Director of Postgraduate Research
School of Arts
University of Surrey
Tel: 01483 683052
https://soundcloud.com/modernist-tom/tracks
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